Agent M: The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight

The fascinating, improbable true story of Maxwell Knight — the great MI5 spymaster and inspiration for the James Bond character M.

Maxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history. He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric — a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets — and almost totally unqualified for espionage.

...